Aristide Economopoulos/The Star-LedgerNY Giants quarterback Eli Manning scrambles in the first quarter against the Atlanta Falcons earlier this season. He's been bother this season by a right foot injury.

In 2005, Eli Manning said he wouldn’t miss any time after spraining his elbow in a preseason game against the Panthers. He missed the next two games and was affected early in the regular season.

Two years ago, Manning said the shoulder injury that should have kept him out a month wasn’t an issue after playing through it the first week. He later admitted it bothered him for about a month.

So Monday, when Manning told reporters on a conference call his latest foot injury “isn’t something that I think will linger or bother me,” consider his track record.

“When I go out there, I’m not thinking about it,” said the Giants’ quarterback. “When I’m playing the games, I’m not thinking about it and worrying about it.”

On Sunday, it was revealed Manning is dealing with a “stress reaction” in his right foot that is a result of his overcompensating for a plantar fascia injury he suffered earlier this season. The stress reaction could develop into a potentially season-ending stress fracture, but so far it hasn’t and Manning, who is expected to practice this week and play on Sunday against the Cowboys, believes he’s improving.

There’s evidence to support his belief, as Manning has played pretty well since this second injury popped up over the past couple weeks. Against the Chargers and Falcons, he completed a combined 50 passes in 72 attempts for 599 yards, five touchdowns and only one interception, while moving very well to escape pass rushers.

It wasn’t until the trip to Denver that he began to struggle once again and failed to step into a few throws that fell incomplete.

But that might have had more to do with the Broncos’ blitz and coverage than his foot.

“I wasn’t limping on the field,” Manning said, “and it’s not something I think about when I’m playing in the game or is something that bothers me.”

Manning did admit he’s been affected in at least one area.

“When you have to go to the training room and get treatment, it just kind of throws your schedule out of whack,” he said, adding: “I’m a guy that doesn’t like to be in the training room and I try to avoid it as much as possible. I only go in there when I truly need it.
“That’s been probably the biggest annoyance – just trying to deal with it.”

Note: DE Justin Tuck, among other players, has insisted for weeks a players-only meeting is unnecessary. So guess what Tuck and Manning admitted to holding yesterday?

“We’ve had a few,” Tuck said.

Maybe they didn’t want to admit they held them because they didn’t exactly get out of them what they were hoping to get.